(Updates prices, adds quote, Venezuela debt development)
By Bruno Federowski
SAO PAULO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies
strengthened on Thursday as investors cautiously returned to
emerging markets following a selloff in the previous session.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail and inflation figures on
Wednesday fostered expectations that the Federal Reserve could
increase U.S. interest rates faster than expected, driving
traders away from higher-yielding assets. But that move faded on
Thursday as bargain-hunting sparked a global rebound.
European stocks rose after posting their longest losing
streak of the year, while the dollar rebounded from a three-week
low against a basket of developed market currencies.
Latin American markets followed along, with currencies from
Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru
rising between 0.3 percent and 1 percent.
Mexico's peso firmed after concerns the latest round of
talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) would fail to make much headway drove it to an
eight-month low on Wednesday.
Comments by Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo on a
Mexican counter-proposal to the controversial U.S.-backed plan
of a five-year sunset clause cheered business interests.
"Investors consider ... Guajardo's statements as positive in
the sense that Mexico's counter-proposals on some of the most
critical issues are a good sign that there's a willingness to
reduce the differences with the plans of the U.S. team," CI Bank
said in a report.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index jumped 2.38
percent, also supported by a strong batch of corporate earnings
figures.
In Venezuela, delays in payments on sovereign debt and bonds
issued by state oil company PDVSA constitute a "credit event,"
triggering payouts on credit default swaps, a New York-based
derivatives group ruled on Thursday.
The decision by the International Swaps and Derivatives
Association came after two ratings agencies declared President
Nicolas Maduro's government in "selective default" this week for
failing to make coupon payments within a grace period.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2200 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest daily % change YTD % change
MSCI Emerging 1125.36 1.28 30.51
Markets
MSCI LatAm 2737.67 2.24 16.96
Brazil Bovespa 72511.79 2.38 20.40
Mexico IPC 47747.69 0.12 4.61
Chile IPSA 5314.53 0.77 28.02
Chile IGPA 26788.54 0.75 29.20
Argentina MerVal 27267.30 3.63 61.17
Colombia IGBC 10750.67 0.53 6.15
Venezuela IBC 673.73 1.98 -97.88 Currencies Latest daily % change YTD % change Brazil real 3.2739 0.16 -0.75
Mexico peso 19.0540 1.01 8.87
Chile peso 629.55 0.437 6.54
Colombia peso 3011.49 0.44 -0.33
Peru sol 3.246 0.31 5.18
Argentina peso 17.4800 0.23 -9.18
(interbank)
Argentina peso 18.01 0.28 -6.61
(parallel)
(Additional reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez in Mexico City;
Editing by G Crosse and Rosalba O'Brien)
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